Button-hole jewing-m agh



(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. BOYNTON. BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. BOYNTON. BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE.

No. 390,063. k Patented Sept. 25-, 1888.

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BUTTON-HOLE SE\NING=MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,063, dated September 25, 1888.

Application filed January 5, 1887. Serial No. 223,-hl8.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1. JOHN BOYNTON, of Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Button-Hole SewingMachines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention isintended to be an improvement upon that represented in United States Letters Patent No. 303,453, the object being to more positively insure the placing of the cord under the needle-thread.

In the patent referred to the cord-guide had a nearly semicircular movement, it being at tached to an arm which had the needlebar as its center of oscillation; but herein the cordguide is attached to a horizontal rock-shaft mounted in a bearing at the lower end of a carrier, (shown as a lever,)whieh is free to move and place the cord-guide at opposite sides of the needle, as provided for in the said patent. The rock-shaft referred to has an arm which is in engagement with the clothclamp, or it may be with some other moving part of the machine capable of vibrating the said arm in unison with the lateral movement of the cloth-clamp, the connection of the said arm with the said rock-shaft preferably being by friction, especially when the cloth clamp is made the motor for the rock-shaft, the fric tional attachment of the arm and shaftenabling the cord-guide to be kept in proper position in the throw of the clamp, as when the overstitching is narrower or wider. The carrier for the rock-shaft of the colder is held in to the opposite side of the needle, so that inits further vibrations the cord carried by the said cord-guide will be laid under the stitching for the opposite side of the button-hole.

I have provided the rock-shaft referred to with a stud to cooperate with a guide to positively insure the passage of the end of the (No model.)

cord-guide about the path of movement of the needle, such device not, however, being essentially necessary, for the release of the carrier is effected when the needle is above the material, and the cord-guide will arrive in its position at the opposite side of the needle before the needle descends.

My invention consists, essentially, in the combination, with a needle-bar, cloth-clamp, and a carrier and rock-shaft having a cord guide, of means for oscillating the said rockshaft to vibrate the cord-carrier, whereby the cord is laid under the stitching formingeach side of a button-hole. The feeding wheel or disk wuieh imparts movements to the clothclamp is moved intermittingly by means of a circular strap connected at or near its ends in such manner with a lever that the said lever when vibrated in one direction will be contracted to grasp the disk or wheel, and when moved in the opposite direction will be expanded to release the said disk or wheel, the strap remaining released while it is being moved in a direction opposite that in which the disk or wheel is to be moved, the back ward movement of the strap being to enable it to take a new hold upon the disk or wheel preparatory to again turning it forward.

Figure 1, in side elevation, represents a sufficient portion of a \Vheeler 85 Wilson sewing machine for stitching button-holes to enable my invention to be understood. plan view of the feeding mechanism and the devices at the left of it below the dottedline left-hand end of Fig. 1, the rotating loop taker or hook being omitted. Fig. 4: is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the carrier. Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 4 in the dotted line a0 a2. Fig. 6 is a detail view of part of the encircling strap and connecting parts for intermittingly grasping and moving and then releasing the hub of the wheel to be rotated by it; and Fig. 7 shows separately acatch, 19, to be referredto.

The guides at, the carriage O therein, the cam-wheel E, the post 1, spring G, the mechanism intermediate the cam E and carriage G, the lever H, the switch-cam K, and main shaft S are all substantially such as shownin United States Patent No. 303,557, where like parts Fig.2isa- Fig. 3 is a front elevation of only the are designated by like letters; so thesaid parts need not be herein further described.

In the Patent No. 303,557 the feeding disk or wheel at the upper side of the cam E is shown as provided with ratchet-teeth; but herein the feeding disk or wheel (marked B) has a smooth periphery and is encircled by a preferably metallic strap, 1), which is con traeted and expanded to grasp and release the periphery of the said feeding disk or wheel at the proper times by a strap -lever, c. This straplever is pivoted to one end of the strap 1) by a pivot, b, and to the other end of the said strap by a pivot, b, and the said straplever hasjointed to it by a pivot, b, one end of a link, 1/, which in turn is adjustably connected by suitable bolt and screw, 0 to one end of the vibrating lever H H, the vibrations of the lever in one direction, as toward the right in Fig. 2, by the switch-cam K, causing the strap-lever to be turned in such direction as to compel the strap 1) to hug closely the periphery of the disk or wheel B and cause the said wheel to be rotated in thedircction of the arrow 10 in Fig. 2, the reverse vibration of the said lever H H causing the strap-lever to be turned in such direction as to expand the strap b, so that it no longer hugs the wheel or disk B, and in the further movement of the lever H H in the same direction,after the strap B has been expanded,the said strap is pushed bodily about the disk or wheel B opposite the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2, the rotation of the wheel or disk B being at such time checked by the spring G.

The strap and strap-lever constitute a friction-clutch by which the intermediate rotation of the disk or wheel 13 may be made for any desired distance, thus avoiding the use of a ratchet-wheel and pawl, as in the patents re ferred to.

It will be observed that the strap-lever c is of a peculiar form, so that the pivot by which the link b is attached thereto and the pivots by which the said lever is connected with the strap 11 are all in a line with each other, or approximately so. This form of the said lever and the arrangement of the said pivots secure a compact and el'liciently-operating mechanism specially well adapted for the purpose intended.

That end of the strap I) which receives the pivot 11 is provided, as herein shown, with a saw-cut to receive in it the heel 4 (8Z6 Fig. 6) of the straplever, the shape of the said sawcut being such as to leave a shoulder, 3, against which may act the said heel when the said strap-lever is moved in the direction of the arrow 5 to effect the release of the strap from the wheel B. This shoulder and heel obviate undue or excessive expansion of the strap 1). The inner end of the lever c has a toe, a the said toe being provided in order that the straplever may be expanded independently of the movement ofthe lever H H whenever it is desired to turn the wheels 13 and E backward in a direction opposite the arrow 10.

The feed-wheel B, as herein shown, has pivoted upon it a hand-lever, f, provided with a toe, fflwhieh, by turning the hand-lever when the said toe is opposite the toe 0 of the straplever 0, will cause the strap-lever to be turned in the direction of the arrow 5, as stated, so as to expand the strap 1) and leave the wheel B free to be turned backward by hand,and so also by or through the said hand'lever the feedwheel may be rotated in its forward direction whenever desired independently of the strap b. The carrier h, pivoted on the screw h, is provided at its lower end with a cylindrical bearing, h, (see Fig. 5,) in which is fitted a short rock-shaft, h, screwthreaded at one end to receive a nut, if, by which a shoulder, 71", near the opposite end of the rock-shaft maybe brought up to the said hearing. The rockshaft h at that end of it upon which the nut is applied is provided with ashoulder, (see Fig. 5,) against which is placed a washer, if, and thereafter there is applied to the said rock-shaft an arm, h, and a smallspring, 71 and finally the nut h the latter acting against the said spring, so that the arm h" is held frictionally upon the said rock-shaft.

The head of the rock-shaft is bored to receive the shank of the cord-guide m, made as a rod having suitable eyes for the passage of the cord m, which in practice will be led from asnitable spool, m, through suitable guides to the lower end of the cord-guide m, the cord passing from the lower end of the cord-guide direct to the work at or near the stitchingpoint. The cordguide m is held adjustably in the rockshaft h by a set-screw, m

The arm h (see Figs. 1 and 4) is bifurcated, and embraces, as herein shown, a projection, m extended vertically from the upper memberof the cloth-clamp,which cloth clamp is of regular construction and not of my invention, and so need not be herein further described, except to say that the said clamp is connected with a crossbar of the feeding mechanism. as is the member marked t in the Patent No. 303,557, referred to, so that the said clamp has imparted to it a movement to carry the cloth not only longitudinally backward and forward in the direction of the button-hole under the needle, but also laterally, so that the overstitching is made of the proper width to constitute the sides of the button hole.

The carrier h is provided at its rear side with a pin, 10, against which acts a snitablespring, 12, which has its upper end fixed with relation to the head of the machine, the said spring normally acting to press the carrier to its farthest position to the right in Fig. 3 or toward the operator, that being the position of the carrier while the material being stitched is being moved away from the opcrator,or while the left-hand side of the button-hole is being stitched.

The lowermost bearing, A at the front end of the overhanging arm A has fixed to it a suitable bearing, 14, in which is loosely placed a stud, 15, the upper end of which is surrounded by a spiral spring, 16, which is inclosed in a chamber made for it in the upper portion of the bearing, one end of the said spring being fixed to the bearing, while the other end of the spring is fixed to the head 17 of the said stud, the said spring normally acting to turn the stud to the right. This stud 15 has connected to it by a set-screw, 18, a catch, 19,(shown separatelyinliig. 7,) which engages the carrier h and holds it while the righthand side of the button-hole is being stitched, or while the-material is being moved toward the operator or in the position shown by full lines, Fig. 3, the dotted line position of the carrier in Fig. 3 being that which it occupies when the catch has released the carrier and the spring is effective. The stud 15 has also attached to it by a screw, 20, a trip-lever, 21,which, at the completion of the first side of the button-hole and while the end of the buttonhole opposite where the stitching is commenced is being stitched, is acted upon by the projection 0, attached to the wheel B, to effect the withdrawal of the catch 19 from the carrier ll, so that the cord-guide can immediately pass to the opposite side of the needle, so that the cord delivered from the cord-guide may beheld along the slit and constitute the other side of the button-hole while the cloth-clamp is being moved backward into its starting position.

The block constituting the bearing 14 is, as herein shown, ofsuch shape as to extend across the bearing A*, in which the needle-barn reciprocates, the said extension being slotted, as best shown in Fig. 2 and by dotted lines, Fig. 3, to receive the carrier h, the width of the carrier being sufficiently less than the length of the slot to permit the carrier to have the requisite amount of play in order to enable the cord-guide to pass from one to the opposite side of the needle when the motion of the clothclamp is to be reversed in going from one to the other side of the button-hole.

The extension of the guide 14: has, as herein shown, attached to it by screws 22 a bar, 23, provided at its lower end with a cam-slot, into which enters a pin, 24, extended from the rock-shaft h the said pin passing through a slot in the bearing at the lower end of the carrier h, the said camslot being of such shape as to positively insure a slight rocking motionto the rock-shafth" when the cord-guide is shifted from one to the opposite side of the needle, in order that the lower end of the cord-guide may pass about and not touch the needle or the needlethrcad extended from the eye of the needle to the material.

- Instead of operating the rock-shaft from the projection of, attached to the clothclamp, it is obvious that the said rock-shaft might derive its motion from some other parts of the machine-as, for instance, the arm h mightbe connected by a link with the end of the lever H; but the construction shown is preferred, this modification being mentioned as showing that my invention is not necessarily limited to the exact devices for imparting motion to the rock-shaft and cord-guide in unison with the lateral movements of the cloth-clamp.

The arm h is frictionally attached to the rock-shaft, so that when the lateral throw of the cloth-clamp is increased or diminished the relative positions of the cord-guide and arm It may be readily changed with relation to the rock-shaft, in order that the lower end of the cord-guide may correctly present its cord under the needle-thread.

I am aware that a cast-metal friction-band has been constructed and cast integral with either the fast or loose pulley of a frictionclutch, as in the patent to Bean, No. 321,941, and such construction, or any part of such construction, I disclaim entirely.

I claim- 1. In a machine for stitching button-holes, a cloth-clamp, the disk or wheel E for operating and the attached wheel B for controlling the time of movement of the said clamp, the wheel B having a smooth periphery and an independent encircling metal strap, 6, having the shoulder 3, a strap-lever pivotally connected with the two ends of the said strap and having a heel, 4, and an operating device consisting of the link I)", pivoted to said lever, the

pivots by which said device is connected with the said lever and the pivots by which the latter is connected with said strap being all in a line with each other, combined with means for actuating said operating device, substantially as described.

2. [n a machine for stitching button-holes,

a cloth-clamp, a feed disk or wheel, B, having a smooth periphery, its encircling strap 1), a strap-lever pivoted to the ends of the said strap, and having a toe or projection, combined with an independent lever to act upon the toe of the strap-lever to effect the expansion of the strap when itis desired to move the said wheel or disk by hand independently of the regular mechanism for actuating it, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for stitching button-holes, the following instrumentalities, viz: a needlebar and needle, a clotirclamp, the carrier h, made movable in the direction of the feed of the cloth, a rock-shaft carried by it and having an attached cord-guide, m, and means for oscillating the said rock-shaft to vibrate the cord-carrier in unison with the cloth-clamp at right angles to the edge of the button-hole, whereby the cord is laid under the stitching forming each side of a button-hole, substan tiall y as described.

4. The movable carrier h, provided at its lower end with a bearing, a rock-shaft located in the said bearing, and provided with a cordguide and with an arm, h, combined with a part of the machine moved in unison with the cloth-clamp, substantially as described.

5. The movable carrier it, provided at its lower end with a bearing, a rock-shaftloeated in the said bearing, and provided with a cordguide and with a pin, 2t, combined with a guide having a cam-slot entered by the said In testimony whereoflhave signed myname pin, substantially as described. to this specification in the presence of two sub- 10 6. The movable carrier h, provided at its scribing witnesses. lower end with a bearing, a rock-shaft located 1 T T T in the said hearing and provided with a cord- JOHL BOXNDOL' guide and with a rockshaft having a catch Vvitnessesr to hold the saidearrier, and {L trip-lever to op- ISAAO HOLDEN, crate substantially as described. LoUIs H. BAKER. 

